Lifting off gold films

A method for growing and removing single-crystal gold films can be used to create a flexible and transparent substrate for devices. Mahenderkar et al. grew gold films on the face of a silicon wafer and then used photoelectrochemistry to undergrow a sacrificial silicon dioxide layer. This layer allowed the gold film to be peeled off with adhesive tape. A 28-nm-thick gold foil showed a minimal increase in sheet electrical resistance after 4000 bending cycles. Flexible films of single-crystal cuprous oxide and of zinc oxide nanowires were then grown on the gold foils.